Whatever he could do, I could do, I assured myself. I rode that ride for my brother, who insisted on it. I was sure that Alex and I were going to die on Space Mountain as we shot through the “warp speed” tunnel. We did Disney World, where I prayed like I’d never before prayed in my short little life. And somehow, we made it to our destination without injury. Even though I was scared to put my hands on any grown-up, let alone a parent, I pinched and punched Papi’s arm with my little hands as needed for the rest of the ride. “Pinch me! Pinch me, ayy-yaaaa!” He grabbed my hand to put it on his arm. The whole ride, probably from Orlando to Miami, I watched Papi out of the corner of my eye as his head would fall, then jerk upright, dangerously close to swerving off the road a few times or into oncoming traffic. Alex was asleep in the back seat and thankfully, I was too anxious to be anywhere near sleepy. He kept nodding off but wouldn’t stop to rest. “Ay, Carmencita, keep Papi awake, okay! Keep Papi awake! Das your job!” My father was pleading, half-joking, as he made a grade-schooler responsible for avoiding a deadly car accident as we drove in the middle of the night on a Florida highway. Serendipity as to the timing of my Disney World request. But Florida? I’d had no idea he was there. I’d find out later when he sent Alex and me postcards from his travels to Malay sia, where one of his brothers had settled, and Singapore, where the other had settled. And though we saw Papi twice or more a year when we’d go back home to our family in the city, we didn’t see him there that year and I didn’t dare ask why (never ask Lupe why). ![]() ![]() ”Įvery Chinese American kid knows these questions. Mami would yell for me to get on the phone after she’d spoken to him and he’d yell-ask (he’s a yeller on the phone, always and forever): “What you do in school? How your grades? A’s? You make A’s? What you eating? You eat good there? When I see you, we go Chinatown - get your favorite! Steamed fish, big steamed fish. Always during the day when Marty wasn’t home. Papi called our house in New Hampshire fairly often. Photo from ‘Why Didn’t You Tell Me?’ by Carmen Rita Wong CRW. But excitement is the fraternal twin of fear. This was the kind of excitement I needed back in my life. My first plane flight, and alone with my big brother, no adults. An adorable terry cloth top-and-shorts combo that I can still feel between my fingers, more shorts and tops, and even socks and sandals. There was a new light-green-and-white-striped sleeveless shift dress with a matching short-sleeved bolero, an outfit that blew my mind. I was that little girl with the fur coat and go-go boots again. ![]() “I bought you some new clothes because you’ll need to dress nice for the plane.” Your Papi has been living in Florida so I called him up and asked him to take you and Alex to Disney World.” You could have scraped me off the floor, as this was surely a grade school miracle. Maybe a week or two later, as I sat on my bed with my head in a book, Mom came into my bedroom and plopped down a shopping bag filled with clothes. And I was relieved that she didn’t get angry and scold me for being so selfish as to ask for a vacation. Her smiley encouragement and surprisingly inspirational quote gave me a weird kind of determined hope. I had no idea how it was going to happen, but you’d better believe I prayed and wished and prayed again for it to happen. My mother was instructing me to manifest.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |